The White Phoenix

Chapter 31 - Fire

Wei Ying was standing in the middle of the training ground standing across from a woman who not only terrified him a small bit but also he seemed to admire. This woman stood tall and confident, and she looked kind but strict. Wei Ying was told she would help him with his fire manipulation and he wanted to learn to control it.

"Hello young one, my name is Jilpa, I am from your home land, and I am a Valkyrie. I have trained my entire life to help people like you. I am honored to help you with learning how to control your fire power," Jilpa said.

"A Valkyrie? You are a warrior?" Wei Ying asked, "that is cool."

Jilpa smiled, "it can be, but being a warrior also means I have my own responsibilities. I have to make decisions and sacrifices for the greater good if need be. I am told you are afraid of your Fire power."

"I am, but I do not want to be. I just want to make sure I do not hurt anyone I shouldn't," Wei Ying said.

"What is fire cultivation? Do you know?" Jilpa asked.

"Is it similar to normal cultivation? Where your power comes from within and gathers energy around you to help you grow?" Wei Ying answered with a question.

"Close," Jilpa said, "One of the five major elements which make up this world, the spark that ignited genesis, the light which nurtures life, and the illumination of judgment which vanquishes all evil. While at times a gentle blessing given to men by gods, it is also a terrible curse which annihilates everything. Its name is fire. Those who wield it correctly can make sure it does not damage anything, including yourself."

"So it is a natural force," Wei Ying said.

"That is correct," Jilpa said and snapped her fingers causing a small flame to ignite on her fingers, "a single flame created by a spark. Fire cultivators have that extra spark to create a flame."

Wei Ying looked at the flames in Jilpa's hand. He grew nervous but he was determined to get through this, "how did you do that?" Wei Ying asked.

"The first thing you must learn, is to feel that spark from within. Do you remember that feeling you had when your golden core formed?" Jilpa asked.

"Yes, it felt like there was something coming to life inside me, and it made me feel warm. If I focus my attention to my core, I still feel that warmth," Wei Ying said.

"That is actually a good start. Now imagine that warmth spread through your body. Close your eyes and feel that warmth travel through you," Jilpa said.

Wei Ying did as he was told. He closed his eyes and focused on his core. He focused on the warmth that it makes him feel. He soon found it spread through his body and land at the tip of it fingers. It was like that warmth was drawing in natural energy from outside his body.

"Now, do you feel that warmth gather energy from outside you? Gathering the natural energy that the world produces?" Jilpa asked.

Wei Ying nodded, "yes."

"With your eyes closed hold out your hand and imagine what it would be like to have the warmth of the sunlight in your hand," Jilpa said.

Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen told Jilpa that it would be nice if they could observe their session. She was okay with it, as long as it didn't cause a distraction from Wei Ying. Standing at a distance, Wangji could see Wei Ying relaxing, using methods to gather energy like he taught Wei Ying to use. He then watched as Wei Ying held out his hand and a small spark of fire was sitting there on his hand.

Wei Ying opened his eyes to see the fire and he smiled. He kept his mind focused and calm, "does fire react to emotions? I know spirituality energy does not but does fire?"

"It can. If your emotions are driven to high, say you got angry, you could create an accidental blaze. If you were really upset, you can even cause yourself to be engulfed by it. That is why it is important to learn to manage your emotions when you are working with fire. The angrier you get, the more dangerous it can become. But sometimes that anger can be turned into courage and confidence and it can be used as a weapon. A lot of times, fire manipulators use it for self defense or if they absolutely have to," Jilpa explained.

"Did you learn all this by yourself or did you have someone teach you?" Wei Ying asked.

"I was trained, just like you," Jilpa answered, "now that I am older, I learn to use my fire to properly help me fight my battles. Because we can create a flame, we must also learn how to extinguish it."

"I was just thinking that, I created this little flame, how to I make it go away without panicking?" Wei Ying asked.

"Rule number one when working with fire and training to use it, learn to be calm with it. If you panic, it will only spread and get worse. Worst case scenario, someone would dump a bucket of water on you," Jilpa said, "during training anyway."

"Okay," Wei Ying said as he calmed his breathing.

"Good," Jilpa said, "now just all you need to do, is take your other hand and put your hands together. Lack of oxygen will cause the fire to go out. It will never burn you or feel hot to you."

Wei Ying nodded and clasped his hands together, causing the fire to go out, "cool, thank you. I look forward to learning more from you."

"And I look forward to training you," Jilpa said, "why don't we call it a day and meet up again, same time tomorrow, and we can start working on stances."

"Okay, thanks again," Wei Ying said cupping his hands and bowed.

Jilpa nodded and watched Wei Ying leave with Lan Wangji. Lan Xichen stuck around to have a moment with Jilpa, "You are good at teaching," Xichen told her.

"Teaching young ones control and helping them understand their own potential is always rewarding to me, it lets me know that there is one more person that is capable of doing great things," Jilpa said.

"I appreciate you taking to time to teach him, we just do not have the resources to know how to help him in this situation," Xichen added.

"Of course, fire cultivation is hard to find in others. To be honest, he reminds me of how excited my daughter used to be when she started to train," Jilpa said.

"I met her, Annchi. She is a sweet girl," Xichen said.

"Thank you," Jilpa said, "it has been difficult as of late. She lost her father a few years ago, and it hasn't been easy since. I know she means well, but she is still my daughter."

"You are doing the best you can with the best of your abilities. I do not have children yet but I run this sect. It's not easy managing a lot of people," Xichen said, "but I am sure with time, Annchi will come around. Maybe you both need to sit and really talk things out. Nothing with resolve if you both let it sit."

"I will think about that," Jilpa said, "I appreciate it. I shall return tomorrow, same time. I should head out for now."

"Alright, have a good rest of your day," Xichen told her.

Jilpa nodded and teleported out of Cloud Recesses. Lan Xichen didn't expect to hear both Annchi and Jilpa open up to him like that. Though, Lan Xichen was starting to admire Jilpa for at least trying and working hard for what she does. He sighed and left the training grounds to meet up with Wangji and Wei Ying so he could ask Wei Ying how his first lesson was.